It isn’t hard to see the appeal of foraging for wild mushroom. For starters, there’s the fact that mushrooms are eminently tasty and can be featured prominently in a wide range of dishes. There’s also the satisfaction that can come from going out into the wild, finding something edible and bringing it home to eat. But there are downsides to this practice, as bluntly described in the title of a 2021 book: How to Forage for Mushrooms Without Dying.
A recent announcement from the California Department of Public Health has put the risks of mushroom foraging front and center. As of December 5, the agency in question asked Californians to temporarily stop foraging for wild mushrooms. The reason? An outbreak of amatoxin poisoning, which has led to the death of at least one person and what is described as “severe liver damage” in several others. All in all, the agency has identified 21 cases of poisoning in this particular outbreak.
The California Department of Public Health believes that the outbreak is “linked to the consumption of wild, foraged mushrooms,” with death cap mushrooms identified as an especially likely culprit. Their announcement mentions “clusters” around both Monterey and San Francisco, though risk of this type of poisoning exists across the state.
Edible Mushroom Research Revealed New Flavors
There are new bitter tastes to explore“Because the death cap can easily be mistaken for edible safe mushrooms, we advise the public not to forage for wild mushrooms at all during this high-risk season,” said the director of the California Department of Public Health, Dr. Erica Pan.
According to an Associated Press article on the warning, the rise in toxic mushrooms is believed to be connected to significant amounts of precipitation across the state.
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